Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Eighteen: The Chained Dog

'They didn't believe me when I told them they wouldn't break you,' said Kessler.  

Regan looked down at the table in front of her, steadfastly refusing to meet Kessler's eyes. 

'The roof was a set-up.' 

'It was a test. If you hadn't hesitated, you wouldn't be here.' 

'The stench of betrayal is still clinging to you.' 

Kessler snorted. 'Save the drama. It was only a matter of time before someone with a better edge took you out. Your clock was ticking long before you ever stepped onto that roof.' 

Kessler waited for a response. Regan silently stared at the table as if the blank metal surface contained a deep secret. 

'Your self pity is pathetic,' said Kessler. 'A sword is a sword; a silencer is a silencer. You know as well as I do that you get rid of a broken weapon before it kills you.' 

'So I'm what exactly? A blade with a hairline fracture?' 

'Pick whatever metaphor makes you happy; it doesn't make a difference. Whether you think I was right or wrong to hand you over matters about as much as dry leaves. You need to work with reality as it is, not as you think it should be.' 

'Reality,' Regan gave a humourless laugh. 'The reality is, one way or another, I'm not walking out of here. I can see it in your eyes. You look at me like I'm already a corpse.' 

'That's up to you.'

***

Behind the mirror Seline and Trevellian watched Regan closely. 

'She's surprisingly astute,' said Trevellian. 

'She looks shattered.' 

'Not yet, but she's getting there.' 

Trevellian's neck was still wrapped in bandages. He unconsciously rubbed the spot where Regan had bitten him. 

'It will take a while for the full impact of Kessler's betrayal to sink in,' he said. 'I'm sure she suspected Kessler had betrayed her before, but seeing the reality in front of her is different. Until now, there was still a small part of her that hoped it wasn't true. That's why I waited to bring Kessler in. I wanted that hope to be the only thing she had left before I snuffed it out.' 

'It sounds to me like you're harbouring a grudge,' Seline smiled. 'I can't imagine why.' 

Trevellian dropped his hand from the wound at his neck. 

'This has always been my strategy,' he said dismissively. 

Seline shrugged. 'It's your decision. Kessler's not a trained liar though. Do you trust her to follow through?' 

'I guess we're going to find out.'

***

'They want your craft, not your life,' said Kessler. 'Think of it as a chance to find out what life is like for other people.' 

'Broaden my horizons, take a trip, have a summer romance,' said Regan in a flat, deadened voice. 'What's not to like?' 

'This isn't the game for you any more.' 

Regan looked down at her mangled fingers. The sharp pain had subsided into a deep aching throb. 

'It looks like everyone just has my best interests at heart,' she said. 'I'm not sure how much more of this tender love and care I can take.' 

'It's a trade. Just like everything else in life. Either everyone gets what they want, or you die.' 

'This isn't what I want.' 

'Wrong,' said Kessler coldly. 'You just don't know it yet. In ten years, you'll realise that this was the best thing that ever happened to you.' 

'When I'm baking cookies in my house in the suburbs with a lawn and a white picket fence and a labrador.' 

'You've always been stubborn, but I didn't realise you were stupid,' Kessler said with mild irritation. 

'I don't care about your pathetic justifications, Kessler. The lowest creatures in life are traitors. I might as well be having a conversation with bacteria.' 

Regan saw a muscle tense on the side of Kessler's jaw as she clenched her teeth. 

'It might be kinder to just cut you down right now,' she said. 

A bitter smile crept across Regan's face. 'Another corpse. How many corpses did I give you over the years?' 

'I didn't keep count.' 

'I did. You could fill this room with them until they overflowed out the door.'

'Dwelling on them is pointless. You think I owe you something for each life? A silencer is only as good as their last kill. The fact that you've forgotten that disappoints me even now.' 

'From now on, killing you is going to be my only goal.' 

Suddenly, Kessler slammed her palm down on the metal table. She leaned in until Regan could feel her breath on her neck. 

'You think you have what takes to take me out?' she said in a quiet, angry voice. 'Go ahead and try it, but you know what I think? I think you're a dog on a chain. You can bark and bark, but in the end it's all just empty threats. In the end, you know you're chained.' 

Regan lifted her eyes to meet Kessler's furious gaze. 

'How strong do you think my chains are?' she said. 'The next time we meet, it's going to end in blood.' 

Kessler let out a short sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a grunt and slowly straightened. 

'I don't think we're going to meet again, Regan.' 

Regan turned back and stared resolutely at her own reflection in the mirror. She didn't watch Kessler go.

***

Behind the mirror, Trevellian moved closer to the glass until his face was only inches away. Beyond the glass Regan still sat at the metal table. She was looking forward with an expression of unadulterated hatred. 

'If I didn't know any better, I'd say she could see us,' he said. 

'Do you feel that interview went well?' Seline asked pointedly. 

'Of course! Don't be absurd.' 

'I'm not sure I concur with that assessment.' 

Trevellian shrugged. 'Kessler served her purpose. I didn't expect her to stick to the script.' 

'You predicted she would threaten Regan?' 

'I knew she'd unbalance her. Regan is like one of those ancient castles. Direct assaults will just smash to pieces against her defences, but if you weaken her foundations she'll collapse in on herself until there's nothing left but ruins.' He rubbed his eyes. 'She's not showing it outwardly, but soon she'll either break or go mad. Those are the only two options left to her.' 

In the room beyond the mirror, Pyotr had returned. He loomed over Regan like a vengeful spirit. 

'We don't need to watch this,' said Trevellian. 

Seline and Trevellian walked to the door. 

'For someone so adept at harnessing torture, you're surprisingly sickened by it,' said Seline. 'A devil's cunning and an angel's conscience seldom work hand in hand.' 

As the two of them left the room, neither of them noticed the way Regan shifted her weight on her chair.